Pinterest Updo!

I recently joined the wonderful world of Pinterest and have since pinned a few new ways to style my generally lifeless and thin hair. Here is the inspiration photo and how-to guide I pinned about a week ago:

I'm happy to report that it was just as easy as explained and it worked even on my generally challenging locks! It took about 15 minutes from start to finish and the only note I would add to the how-to part would be that I had to put a clear plastic on the end of my little braid while I braided it with the two unbraided strands. When I got close to the end, I slid the plastic band off and used it at the end of the new braid. I did this on all three sets of braids, otherwise I don't think I could've managed braiding with that little braid that kept wanting to come undone.

 I'm also proud to report that with only six bobby pins, this updo lasted all day at school!

Technical Difficulties

Let me begin by giving a HUGE thank you to all my wonderful friends and family that have taken the time to read my little blog and leave comments or send me kind words in emails. I really can't thank you enough!

And I will follow that up with a HUGE apology for my radio silence over the last week+. I have no excuse other than I think I may have bit off more than I can chew in trying to start two huge makeovers at once. The work I am doing in my classroom is without a doubt more important to me than overhauling my wardrobe and style so I apologize for the lack of outfit shots as I was more consumed with classroom issues. I will, however, admit that I am proud of myself because I have been putting together awesome outfits each day for school (and both students and colleagues are noticing!) but I cannot figure out how to snap decent pictures each day...Technical Difficulty #1 Amber at Ambular Logic always looks gorgeous in her photos (I should've taken up modeling with her when we were in high school...ha!) as does Bonnie at Delusions of Grandeur whose shots look like they were done specifically for a style magazine in beautiful outdoor settings. I may have to get a fellow teacher to take a quick snapshot each morning and email it to me as I can't seem to get up early enough to get one at the house. How do other bloggers take their photos? Or rather, who takes them?

(I LOVE the Simpsons)

This past week has been especially trying as it was our first full week with students. Each day I came home more tired than the last which added to the problem of rousing myself out of bed early enough to do any sort of photography at home. The first two days were tiring just because I was getting back into the swing of teaching, but Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were exhausting for another reason...Technical Difficulties #2-78. I'm flipping my classroom this year which relies heavily on technology, namely the internet. For three days last week we had little to no access to the internet. At first I thought just my wireless signal had gone down so I plugged my laptop directly into the wall, no luck. Then I thought it was just something temporary, "It'll come back on. It's 2012, the internet doesn't actually 'crash' anymore." It wasn't. So I was unable to show the videos I had planned on showing each day (the ones I had spent all summer filming), I couldn't read my students' homework assignments (they are doing online digital assignments through Collaborize Classroom), I couldn't take attendance, or access my email. By the end of Friday I estimated that after only 6 days of actual teaching I'm easily 4 days behind schedule.

So I hope you can stick with me through the ups and downs of this year! If you're here for mostly fashion I apologize in advance as that will always come secondary to me getting stuff done inside the classroom and putting my students first. If you're reading to follow my journey on this year of high-tech (when it cooperates!), student-centered, Common Core Standards teaching adventure I promise there is more to come!

And as a treat for sticking around this long...my outfits from last week!
(On the floor, not on me, sorry.)

Monday

Shirt: INC (thrifted)
Skirt: Studio M (thrifted)
Shoes: Nine West (old)

angled pockets on skirt

Tuesday

Shirt: TJ Maxx (recent)
Skirt: Talbots Outlet (recent)
Shoes: Payless (recent)
Neclace: Target clearance (recent)

Yes, I got saluted in this outfit!

Wednesday

Shirt: Target clearance (recent)
Pants: The Limited (recent)
Shoes: Payless (recent)
Necklace: Gift from Mom

Thursday

Shirt: Ann Taylor (thrifted)
Pants: Ann Taylor (old)
Shoes: Target clearance (recent)
Necklace worn as bracelet: gift from Secret Santa

I wore the shirt tucked in per a comment on my last outfit with this top and it was super flattering. I'm not sure if you can tell but the pinstripe on this pant is also purple...meant to be!

 Technical Difficulty #79: Getting a new camera to take some decent photos!

Patient Problem Solvers

The theme in my classroom for this year is "Patient Problem Solvers" which I took from Dan Meyer's presentation on the need for reform in math instruction in the US. The video is about 12 minutes and will probably bore most of you (unless you're a huge math nerd like I am and believe strongly in the need to move away from standardized tests and move back to actually teaching math and problem solving). If you like the video and want to hear or see more from Dan Meyer this is a link to his blog.

I was lucky enough to find that owls are incredibly popular right now (in both fashion and teacher supply stores) and there is no better classroom mascot to represent my desire for my students to leave my classroom wiser than how they entered.

Our school has a wonderfully talented retired art teacher that frequently subs at our site. I contacted her, showed her some cute owl stickers I had purchased and let her know that my classroom is decorated in blues, greens, and yellows. I dropped off some butcher paper to her last week and here is her masterpiece!

And as far as the fashion goes I have to ask for you to be patient there as well! Wednesday and Thursday (yesterday and today) of this week we were required to wear spirit t-shirts which are neither fashionable or exciting. I did jazz up my outfits by adding cute flats and my zebra belt yesterday and my royal blue/kelly green belt today. I didn't, however, feel they were blog worthy! So stay tuned for an outfit tomorrow which is our first official day with students attending all their classes.

Purple Tank and Zebra Belt

Today's outfit, #8 from the list is almost entirely thrifted. The purple Ann Taylor tank was $4. The pleated INC skirt was also $4. I purchased the zebra belt at Target on clearance and the sling backs date back to my days of student teaching. Happy Tuesday!

Outfit Debut!

Here goes nothing...my first post with an outfit! Today is my first official day back at school. A day that will be filled with a whole district meeting in the morning, followed by announcements of newly tenured teachers (that's me!), and a keynote speaker. Last year's keynote speaker was a magician...no really, a magician.

In honor of what is sure to be an amazing day it is only fitting that I wear something new and awesome. I have decided that I will not be showing the 31 outfits in order as it is nearly one hundred degrees here today and some of the outfits involve blazers and long pants. Also, I have a gorgeous bruise on my leg from trying to make the bed two days ago (I will continue to leave that task up to my wonderful husband lest I injure myself again). While I had wanted to show off outfit #1 it would show off that bruise so I'm going out of order.

Drumroll please!



I welcome any and all comments and constructive criticism; I'm learning and would love any advice!

I hope you have a wonderful magician-filled-Monday and a great school year!

Math Formulas + New Clothes = Stylish Outfits

I'm a math teacher (which you probably already know) and I'm stylishly challenged (which if you have met me anytime in the last 6 years of my teaching career you definitely know). When it came to putting together a new wardrobe from scratch I really didn't know where to start. I began by finding some awesomely fashionable teachers/professionals who blog about their style-->see blogs I love to the right. But when it came to actually putting the pieces together I was a little stumped.

Enter Pinterest! I found this awesome graphic from Banana Republic that is more or less a formula for making great outfits. Give me 13 variables and/or coefficients and I can write endless amounts of algebraic expressions, this is basically the same. It is fashion made easy for those of us who are really left-brained.

Here is my list of 13 items (actually ended up using a few more) that I used to make 31 different looks. Stay tuned to see a new outfit each day for the next month!

1) Ann Taylor royal purple tank-thrifted similar here
2) INC black pleated skirt-thrifted similar here
3) Nine West black suede wedges-from a wedding December 2010 similar here
4) Steve Madden leopard wedges-Plato's Closet (I've read that many thrifters don't consider Plato's Closet "thrifting" so I will list them separately) similar here
5) The Limited essential white collared shirt-TJ Maxx similar here
6) Express Editor black pinstripe pant-old (circa 2005) similar here
7) J. Crew Factory pencil skirt in royal purple print with Max Studio cream tank (TJ Maxx 2011) similar here
8) The Limited Drew pant-gift from Mom
9) Gap royal blue cropped V-neck cardigan-Gap Outlet recent similar here
10) J. Crew pencil skirt in double-serge cotton royal violet-Factory Store recent
11) Blue and green chevron tank-TJ Maxx recent similar here
12) The Limited orange bateau sweater-gift from Mom
13) Style & Co brown blazer-thrifted similar here

Ok, I'm Really Done Buying Now

Well, I guess I'm pretty bad at this whole idea of not shopping (although before beginning this new wardrobe thing I swear I hadn't bought clothes or shoes in nearly a year...). I went to the outlets on Thursday because I really wanted a pencil skirt from J. Crew after seeing the numerous cute ones worn by the lovely ladies at Apples and Pencil Skirts and Mix and Match Fashion. And since my already non-existent clothes budget (remember how I wasn't going to buy anything until October??) can't afford J. Crew I thought heading to their Factory Store during the back to school sale might just, well, I'm not sure what I was thinking.

Long story short, I came away with some really great stuff that will be my final purchases until November...and even then I will only have $44.32 left in November's budget, but this time I swear I'm really done.

DIY Write-On Frames

Thanks to Pinterest I have found many great ideas for fashion and my classroom. I'm going to leave out how finding these inspirations involve countless hours of me ignoring my husband while I look at "just one more person's boards."

In any case, I loved this idea and ran out to the dollar store at 9:30 Tuesday night to go buy my frames!

Inspiration Frames

I picked an assortment of sizes and laid them out on the floor to see how they would look (don't mind the upside down and sideways happy families).

Then at school I picked out scrap booking paper that matches my color scheme of blues, yellows, and greens to put in the frames. I used the school's paper cutter to make nice clean cuts to ensure a good fit.

And within about a half hour this is what I had!

Frames with Writing in Expo Marker

Here is the final product hung on the wall. I tore off the frame stands on the back of each frame so they'd lay flat against the wall with just a flat push pin.

DIY Terrariums

About a month ago I found this awesome DIY project from Mrs. Hahn Daydreams and I have been dreaming about it ever since! I'm terrible with plants and have only managed to keep one plant alive in my entire life...it was a housewarming present from my sister c/o IKEA which means before living with me it lived in a giant indoor warehouse with no natural sunlight or fresh air. I think this is the only reason it is still alive.

The terrarium from the above link is beautiful in a gorgeous glass bowl with a variety of succulents. I liked the idea of succulents (maybe I won't kill them??) but found colorful metal pails for $1 each at Target that seem more 7th grade classroom friendly. I could picture glass shattering within the first week so I came up with something a little less chic but more my speed as far as caring for plants goes.



Inspiration Terrarium

My Version



I made a total of six of these with different plants in each one. The succulents are surrounded by white beans which was an idea I found while flipping through a magazine at my sister's house. I'm not sure how they'll work out as part of me remembers a science experiment when I was in elementary school that involved planting beans like this and watching them sprout. Who knows, maybe if the succulents die I'll have a garden of white beans!

This photo is very poor in quality but it shows the pails in each of my windows. I'm looking forward to trying to keep these cute little guys alive!





First Hurdle

Well, I knew this flipped classroom thing would come with struggles and I have already come up against my first one.

I'm not sure the exact quote but it goes something like this: "It is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission." I always seem to be doing this but never as my intention. This summer when I put in all my hours to get ready to do this flipped classroom thing, I was just super excited about the prospect of trying something new and different. I had been inspired by the classes I took and just took the idea and ran with it never thinking twice about whether or not I should get permission.

I blame it on my first four years of teaching at a school where I pretty much had free rein (I had to look up whether it was "rein" or "reign" and found this interesting article). If I thought it was going to benefit my students I went ahead and did it and no one ever really questioned me. My heart is always in the right place.

So when I emailed my principal to get her approval on my syllabus and homework policy for the upcoming year I detailed all the exciting changes I was making and was shocked when I received her response. She was supportive, don't get me wrong, but she let me know that whenever I'm going to make drastic changes to my teaching that I should always run it by her first and that she would need to present it to some people at the district office. I completely understand and realize that in my zeal I may have done things out of order but I still spent all day yesterday feeling pretty disheartened that I had made such a mistake and possibly put my principal in a tough position. I contemplated putting the flipped/blended idea on hold and just moving forward with the in-class portion of work that i had done related to the common core. I was honestly ready to scrap the online videos and discussions for a later date when I was able to go about things properly.

Once I finally talked to my principal in person I felt better about continuing with my pilot as planned. I apologized for not speaking with her first and she assured me that she is behind me trying something new, especially when it is something that could help our students. I just need to be better about asking first and I'll avoid the situation of having to ask for forgiveness. Lesson learned!

And the great thing about hurdles? They are meant to be jumped over :)

Cheers to Beginnings!

I'm not sure where to start but here goes...

I am 10 days away from embarking on a new adventure as a teacher. While I have been a teacher for 6 years now, this year might as well be my first. I am starting over. I have completely redesigned not only what I will teach this year but the manner in which I will teach. With the new Common Core State Standards for Mathematics on the horizon I am taking the proverbial bull by the horns and getting started even though California will not implement them fully for a few years.

At the end of June I was privileged enough to attend an institute at UC Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science to learn about the CCSSM and since then I have been inspired to make big changes. The new standards call for a change in the way we teach mathematics--a needed change to get back to teaching students how to problem solve, how to be persistent and logical, and to see the value in math as it is used in real life. We are finally navigating away from multiple choice tests and I couldn't be happier!

Awhile back our school district sponsored a technology dinner series which exposed teachers to some of the amazing web 2.0 technologies available.  One of the nights featured a website called Collaborize Classroom and an amazing presenter named Catlin Tucker who is the authority on the blended learning philosophy. I left that night's presentation wondering how I could do a blended or flipped classroom with my own teaching practice. It wasn't until the conference in June that I realized I had to stop wondering and start making it a reality.

I have logged over 150 hours this summer creating video lessons of myself that will become my students' homework which frees up class time to engage in open-ended tasks, real-world applications, and discovery learning.  It took many days to find these type of tasks for all the lessons I will cover this year.  It took even more days to rework my entire textbook (2 textbooks actually!) to align with the Common Core.  And at the end of all this planning I find myself anxious to see how it will all play out.

For years I have been told to keep a teacher journal. At my previous school many of the elementary teachers kept journals or, at the very least, lists of the successes and challenges they had each day. In an effort to keep myself on track with this endeavor I figured making it a public journey couldn't hurt to help keep me motivated and honest with what I can only imagine will be a year filled with ups and downs.

So on to the wardrobe part...

My first teaching job out of college was at a pretty tough school in San Francisco. I showed up my first few days in cute outfits and heels, determined to keep the level of dress I had while I was student teaching (and desperately trying to impress all those around me to get great letters of recommendation).  I remember hearing people laugh about how it wouldn't take long for me to not be wearing heels anymore but I knew I wouldn't cave. Well, teaching on the top floor of a three story building and having to walk kids up and down the three flights of stairs eight times a day, I didn't last. It wasn't long before the heels became tennis shoes, my skirts and slacks became grungy uniform pants and my blouses were traded out for any t-shirt I could find for less than ten dollars.

But then something great happened...our school switched from being a dress code school to a uniform school! And I decided that in support of the kids (and out of sheer laziness) I would wear uniform too. So I bought a pair of tan pants from Target and navy pants from the Gap outlet, purchased a long sleeve and two short sleeve uniform tops from school and called it good.  By the end of my four years teaching at this school  I was not proud of how I presented myself in the classroom each day. It was apathetic and unprofessional.

When I left San Francisco and relocated to the North Bay Area I landed an amazing new teaching job in North Napa. I was determined that first year to dress professionally but there was a problem--none of my professional wardrobe fit. Being newly married and happy I had gained enough weight that before the school year started I had to go buy two pairs of slacks that would actually fit to get me through the year. I even had a conversation with my principal before the school year started to let her know about my predicament and that I would do my best to dress professionally with what I had. I didn't. I went back to wearing just those two pairs of slacks and t-shirts.

Over the last few years I have managed to lose those extra marriage pounds and I am proud to say that in January I reached my goal weight and have kept it off.  I wanted to reward myself with a new wardrobe but didn't know where to begin. In my 29 years on this planet I have rarely been fashionable and when I have been I can guarantee it was because I was wearing something my very stylish older sister picked out for me. She always dressed me for school, helped me pick out suits for job interviews, she even picked out my wedding dress!  So with all the other changes I am making in my professional life I have decided to put dressing professionally (and with style!) on the list too. With the help of my sister and my mom I got my new wardrobe started with some essential pieces and the rest I am filling in with the help of some amazing bloggers that have inspired me to mix colors, patterns, and start thrifting!

If you have made it to the end of this seemingly endless post, thank you. This has been a huge weight lifted from my shoulders to actually start something that I really want to do. I have many hopes for this blog but mainly I hope that it will give me a place to record how this year goes academically and wardrobe-ly. I hope that it will keep me on track and I hope that I will find like-minded people to inspire me and that can help encourage me to keep going when the going gets tough.

So cheers to beginnings and thank you again for reading!